339 - Can you Create a Contract Term for That?

Unf*ck Your Biz With Braden

On today's episode of the podcast we're talking about things that should, and shouldn't, go in your contract.

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Looking at contract provisions and terms, I believe they fall into one of two categories:

1. I agree - For example, I agree to provide these services, client agrees to pay this amount of money, client agrees to provide this to company, etc. These are the typical things that are in our contract.

2. I understand - These are more acknowledgements of factors of circumstance. They can be in the form of I agree statements, but sometimes it can be as simple as "Client understands that generally our communication hours are between X and Y."

This is the delineation of what goes in the contract. "I agree" statements always go in the contract, "I understand" statements sometimes go in the contract.

What goes in the contract:

1. Key terms to the agreement - services being provided, how much you're paying, anything that might cause beef/upset your client like a late payment penalty or limit on number of revisions.

2. Legalese - Choice of law provision, choice of venue, all the boring stuff at the end of the document that the lawyers right that you may not typically think of needs to go in the contract.

What should go in onboarding documents that doesn't need to be in the contract

1. Anything that's nice to know - General business hours, best ways to book, how to upload client files, etc.

2. Core values statements - Include this in your marketing so people know who will be a good fit. Looking back at an example from 2020, there was a photographer and their couple wanted to cancel the contract because the photographer posted something about Black Lives Matter and the couple didn't agree and didn't want them to do their wedding anymore. Core values aren't really a contract term because even if someone agrees to be inclusive what exactly does that mean? I recommend putting your core values on your website above your intake form so they read and self-filter and can include in the email with the contract to confirm you're aligned.

3. Nitty gritty details about the project

Provisions you can add to your contract (all available in the Contract Club)

• No Master Resale Rights

• No firearms (at events) - Clauses like this can get tricky since you aren't having every single guest sign a contract that attends an events. The only thing you really can do is have a client inform their guests

• DJ approval for wedding planners

• No harassment - What do you do if you are made to feel uncomfortable or unsafe

• Newborn photo clause

• Drone usage

• Parking reimbursement - Client agrees to provide parking. This was created after a band had to pay parking tickets after an event.

• No pets

• Ad material

• Spelling mistakes - Client understands that spelling and punctuation is the sole responsibility of the client.

• No print files

The main thing to think about is "is this something I need to address in my contract?" Keep in mind the contract is part of the client experience. You don't want to look like one of those Airbnb hosts who gives you a massive cleaning to-do list before you check out and still charges a cleaning fee on top of that. If your contract is like 30 pages and you look petty to a client they may not want that but at the same time, you need to have a happy medium. You don't want a two page contract because you want them to like you.

Every clause in your contract has a purpose. You should be able to walk your client through it, and sometimes a preface is good something in the contract email like "Our contract is a bit long, but it serves to protect us both and outline our working process and expectations. Every provision serves a purpose and many stem from personal experience. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let us know."

Have a provision and you aren't sure if you should add it to your contract? Ask us inside our free Braden's Besties Facebook group bradensbesties.com

Get access to provisions and contract templates inside the Contract Club at notavglaw.com/club